House Speaker John Boehner is traveling
to California this week, where he'll help openly gay House candidate
Carl DeMaio raise cash.

According to The Hill, Boehner
will appear at a private event for DeMaio in San Diego on Saturday.

In 2012, Boehner raised eyebrows when
he campaigned for Massachusetts Republican Richard Tisei, who is also
openly gay. Boehner this year reiterated his support for Tisei, who
is on his second attempt to win a House seat.

Last month, three prominent groups
opposed to gay marriage targeted both campaigns as well as a third
Republican candidate, Monica Wehby, who is looking to unseat Oregon
Senator Jeff Merkley. Wehby highlighted her support for marriage
equality in a television ad, making her the first Republican Senate
candidate to run such an ad.

The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), FRC Action and CitizenLink called on GOP leaders to distance
themselves from the three candidates.

“It is extremely disappointing to see
Republican leaders in Washington help push the election of candidates
who reject the party's principled positions on these and other core
issues,” Brown said.

The groups pledged in a letter to top
Republicans to “mount a concerted effort to urge voters to refuse
to cast ballots for [the candidates] in the November election.”

While open about his sexuality, DeMaio
has faced criticism in the past over placing a low priority on issues
related to gay rights. Tisei, who is married, said in March that he
skipped the GOP's annual state convention over its opposition to
marriage equality.